Chickadees And God’s Sure Word

Jerry spied them first. “Chickadees building a nest in our wood box, Shirley.” Through our bedroom window he pointed, and silently I watched. Thoughtful, I studied the activity of those tiny birds–the encouraging, faith-building, peaceful, comforting activity.

As we muck about political waters, as we dither over church organizations, as we dash from place to place, as our carriage jostles in the street, a carriage into which we pump costly gasoline about which price we as one grumble, God remains steady. Sure. Unmoving. Unchanged. Perfectly dependable. Unflappable. On schedule.

“As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.” Genesis 8:22

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Matthew 6:26

Why did the nest-building of a tiny chickadee interest me this morning? Why did it comfort me? Why did I stare long through the glass in my bedroom? I stared long and was comforted because I recalled the Creator of that tiny bird. I remembered Scripture that speaks to that moment this morning, and it was good. For despite our unease, despite our fretting, despite our questions and our uncertainties, God IS. His Word IS.

And that little bird, innocent and unknowing about her Creator, flits about doing what she was “born” to do, and God sees her and knows about her day. Isn’t that the greatest thing! And if He knows and cares about her, He certainly knows about You–an everlasting soul–and He knows about me.

I am comforted by such knowing.

This Brother Business

Genesis 4

The lesson is pungent, and though told from antiquity, those who seek truth and who strive to live righteously clutch the story, delve deeply into its essence, and insist on knowing the significance to their own lives. The book of beginnings–the Genesis–had taken scant time to make the metamorphosis from paradise to murder, for in verse 8 of chapter 4 are the chilling words ” . . .Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.”

Think about it. These are children of the first humans, Adam and Eve who were created in the image of God, and by Him, were given dominion over the earth. Now, a few years later, one of their sons killed the other. It worsens. Verse 9 sees God staring at Abel, if you will, calling him to account: “. . . Where is Abel thy brother?”

who? Me? Talkin to me? Stammered and stuttered about no doubt, then finally through his lying arrogant lips, Cain spoke back to God. I don’t know. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

Oh, Friend, what bloody words are those, for rising as a toxic cloud from a tainted mass sound the cries of Abel, spiraling upward so that it was God who heard those awful sounds.

Cursed, Cain. You are cursed. ” . . . a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.” verse 12

But what does that mean to me, you ask? I have no inclination to kill anybody, much less my brother. What do these words mean to me? While I don’t purport to have anything approaching a full understanding of Scripture, I submit there may be no generation more in need of understanding the lesson–indeed the warning–in this account than we who currently populate the earth.

Wider in scope than the mandate against physically killing one’s brother is the clear implication here and in other scripture that God will call us to accountability concerning the treatment of our brother.

Our brothers’ keepers? Are you kidding? This is the ME generation, I’m busy, I’m stretched thin already, have my own close ones to care for, my own home to maintain, my job, my own church commitments . . .Things are tight, don’t have a lot of money, need to work more . . .need more education, must attend another conference, concerned for my own children, am stressed, need a vacation . . .

During the past few years I have attended home mission churches more than at any other time during my adult life, and this has no doubt contributed to my deep sense of the neediness of our brothers in small churches. Do we understand what a blessing it is to these congregations to just show up? Can we possibly know how it feels to have 20 or 30 members, and then have a family from another church decide to visit a mid-week service or a revival service at the home missions church? To see an unfamiliar car pull into the parking lot, a smiling family emerge, then join in with the singing, the praying, the worship is as brilliant light shafted against a cloud-darkened day. Ever think of asking your pastor if you can help out in one of these churches for six months or so? Ever think of offering to take care of a Christmas program or an Easter program or a children’s choir or a youth outing for a home missions church . . .? Ever think of skipping a restaurant meal and giving the money to a small church, or offering your skills to the pastor for a needed project? (While in particular, I am speaking of ministering to home mission churches today, I believe this scripture has a wide arm and would include our neighbors, a stranger on the street, welcoming new people in very large churches, etc.)

Many of you have tended your brother. I know it. Not long ago, a home missions church in Arizona had a particular desperate need; some of you learned of the situation, and immediately tended that brother. I wept when I heard it, and I weep now on recalling your generosity.

Are you my brother? I ask myself today. . . and do I care at all? Later this afternoon as I walk about my village, God help me to look into the eyes of those with whom I come in contact and to fully understand this issue of brotherhood, and to altogether comprehend my crucial and personal responsibility.

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New post on my main blog here and on my photography blog here.

An Abundant Utterance

They shall abundantly utter the memory of Thy great goodness, and shall sing of Thy righteousness. Psalm 145:7

As I read in Genesis this morning, it struck me anew how amazing it is that God created everything! With His words and with His thoughts and with His hands (?) He structured all.

Verse 26 of Genesis says, ” . . . Let us make man in our image, . . . ”

and as I read there, I saw that in a previous reading of this portion of Scripture I had noted Ephesians 1:11. I turned there to read.

In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will:

So, then, not confusing are the words let us. God took counsel with Himself! Job confirms this understanding when he points out that God alone was the creator.

He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea. Job 9.8 NIV

What a stunning world we inhabit. On New Year’s eve, Jerry and I walked beside the creek pictured above that feeds into Lake Gregory. The weather was mild, the beautiful tree pictured below was perfectly lighted; God’s creation was magnificent. I so want to always speak of His wonder, His goodness, His love.

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I have been writing this blog for several years now, and it astounds me that my blogs have been viewed more than one million times. I’m humbled and grateful for your interest.

In recent months, though, there have been substantially less visits here, and very little interaction–few comments. I’m thinking a couple of reasons account for this: First, I have been posting less here and more frequently on Facebook, often with a link to a post here. I like Facebook, quickly hear what my friends are doing some days, and have made connection with people I hadn’t heard from in years. That’s all nice, but there is a lack of depth to Facebook, and not frequently do persons engage in thoughtful and a bit deeper conversations. Also, when comments are made on Facebook about a blog post here, they feel “lost” to me. They are not posted with the article in question, and take lots of scrolling around to find them.

So, because I enjoy writing, and because I especially enjoy your interaction, I’ve decided to no longer routinely link my articles to Facebook, and am hoping to increase traffic here. I may pop over to your place with a link every now and then as an invitation to come visit me here. Remember that you can subscribe to this blog so that you will be notified when I make a new post.

I want to hear from you. Please comment when you have interest about something I’ve written.

Blessings always…and a wonderful new year!

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Recognition of His Place

He was alone. The night hours arrived; the man looked about for a spot to rest, saw a likely place, and stretched himself on the ground. He would spend the night here. Quickly he fell asleep, and then began the dream.  It was a majestic dream, one that would forever change the life of the young man. A tall ladder set in the earth extended into the heavens with angels flitting up and down. At the very top stood the Lord who spoke to Jacob, “…I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac…”

It was a strange place for such an encounter, an unusual setting, and when Jacob had settled himself onto his stone pillow that black night, it is unlikely that he was anticipating a remarkable visit with God Almighty. Indeed his later words in the text indicate his surprise at such an occurrence. For in that solitary wilderness on the road to Padanaram as he made the trek to find a wife, God shook Jacob’s world with the startling words:

“And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

“And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.”

Genesis 28: 14-15

No doubt with a jerk and with a pounding heart, Jacob woke from his sleep, the vivid dream reverberating in his head: He sat upright to declare, “Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not.”  I didn’t know God would be here, had no idea. He looked about at this most unlikely of places, where little thought or idea of God’s spectacular presence would be anticipated, stunned at the vision, at the promise.

What a lesson is ours today. It may be in a youth service with a tender-faced boy who struggles through his first sermon or in a Sunday school class or around a dinner table or on our couch in a dark hour before dawn or in a hospital waiting room or in a mid-week Bible study group that doesn’t seem at all spectacular—it may be in any of these simple places where God will visit us, where He will draw us aside, and where He will whisper into our ears the Promise, the Plan.

Let us be aware. Let us listen…for we too may walk away and say with Jacob, “Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not.”

Unrecognized Treasure

Recently at an Easton, Md. Goodwill store, someone dropped off the painting depicted here. It was jumbled in with wooden spoons, cast off clothing, tattered books and dented pots and pans. But a sharp worker recognized the painting as being valuable, called attention, and it recently sold at Sotheby’s for $40,600.

The painting was the creation of Edouard Leon Cortes, a French Impressionist. His work is beautiful and this link shows more of his paintings.

Some unidentified person drove or walked to that thrift store, probably opened the trunk of their car and set off items they no longer needed or wanted. It is likely they did not recognize the value of the painting, nor did they understand that a masterpiece was in their possession. They failed to comprehend they were setting aside a treasure.

When I read this story, I immediately thought of the treasure we have in our lives when we possess the gift of the Holy Ghost, when we understand who Jesus is, and when we give Him the control of our being. It’s an amazing thing, and startling to consider.

Paul spoke about it in this way: “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.” II Corinthians 4:7

Amazing, for God hath said, “Let us make man in our image,” and so we are flesh and blood as was Jesus Christ, and within our earthy, mortal, decaying bodies dwells the almighty God. It is truly a wonder.

It is astonishing that we have a desire to do right, that we have faith to believe in the supernatural and that we understand in a small way–as through a glass darkly–the treasure with which we are conferred.

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My other blog is here.

Moon Eclipse over Crestline

DSC_0096, originally uploaded by Shirley Buxton.

“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handiwork.” Psalm 19:1

Quiet At The Genesis

Dawn had not yet arrived and Jerry had not awakened, when this morning I drew on a warm robe and slid my feet into red wool slippers. In our living area, I pushed the switch to activate heat strips and turned on the lamp at the end of the sofa. It was quiet here in DJs RV park, and for a while I sat in solitude and read. I read again of God, and of the Genesis of our earth. I read of His six unique days; of humans and animals, of form and void, and of water and space; of darkness and of the moon. By the time I finished reading, light had swarmed through the windows, Jerry had made his appearance, and the aroma of freshly brewed Peets coffee pervaded the place.

Of those verses I read today–and their images–my favorite is this:

“And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.”

Can you visualize this dynamic picture? Can’t you see God relaxing, leaning back, (don’t ask me how God could have leaned back, for I have not a clue–just see Him, please) and, as a master gardener at season’s peak proudly looks over his handiwork, God surveyed all He had done…”…saw every thing that He had made…,” and the next words are the ones I love…”and, behold, it was very good.” Isn’t that the greatest thing! People, elephants, trees, the sea, seven continents, a brilliant sun, and one subdued moon…”it was very good.”

It was quiet in Eden that day–no fighting words, no striving for position, no frantic clawing for understanding, no confusion, no apprehension, no quarrel. It was quiet as God looked–quiet except for the cacophony of bird songs and brown monkey yips and the gentle purr of leopards.

And today, I long for Eden where there is no apprehension, no misunderstandings, no confusion, no wrong ideas, no misperceptions. No lack of assurance.

But how could I expect such?…for the spirit of Genesis is known to be a distant stretch.. far outside my grasp. So then, are we closer to the end? Are the ultimate reaches of time and the birth of a new universe at my fingertips?

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My other blog is here.

No Laughing Matter

Well, I would laugh too…uproarious laughter, probably mixed with wild tears and frantic and incredulous questions . So would Jerry, you can bank on that.

As did Abraham. As did Sarah.

Abe’s went this way:

“Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?” Genesis 17:17

Sarah’s, this way:

“And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold in the tent. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?” Genesis 18:9, 12

But it was no laughing matter. The giggles ceased when the pains of labor gripped Sarah’s body, and the Word of God was fulfilled, and into the home of 100 year old Abraham was born Isaac, the Son of the Promise.

Don’t laugh at God’s Word. Don’t doubt His promises. Don’t limit His abilities. Let me assure you, God is of supreme trustworthiness. What He speaks WILL come to pass. Not maybe, not perhaps, not if the circumstances are just so, not if I think it might, not if I pray and fast enough, not if I’m good enough. No, it is an absolute. God’s Word will never speak a lie, It will never fail.

Don’t laugh. Believe!

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My other blog is here.

A Song of the Desert

 

Catalina, AZ, originally uploaded by Shirley Buxton.

When I saw this scene from where I sat, I shouted, “Please stop the car. I want to take a picture.” Obliging me, Bob Allen pulled to the curb. I stepped out and snapped this shot. The mountains, strung in a narrow chain near Tucson, Arizona are called The Catalinas. As you can see, it is a stunningly beautiful place.

For from the mouth of God had issued the summons, Bring forth.

“Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness. Fear before him, all the earth: the world also shall be stable, that it be not moved.

Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice: and let men say among the nations, The LORD reigneth.

Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof: let the fields rejoice, and all that is therein.

Then shall the trees of the wood sing out at the presence of the LORD…” I Chronicles 16: 29-33

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My other blog is here.

Of Nothing…to God

DSC_0023, originally uploaded by Shirley Buxton.

Can anything come from nothing?

He lives next door to us in Crestline, this delightful man named Bill, physically tentative as his eighty-four year old legs range our mountain trails, but whose wit and cleverness remain decidedly in place. It was when we had lived beside him a short time, and had invited him over for a meal that he said to us, “I envy your faith.” Bill claims to be an agnostic…but wishes he could believe. Longs to think there is a God.

This intellectual positioning baffles me. For even were I to lay aside my belief in Jehovah God, and completely disregard Biblical accounts, the premise is illogical that asserts this spectacular world to have–from nothing–sprung into being. For how is it possible for something to come from nothing?

Nothing is nothing. No seeds, no Power, no latent beginning. No nucleus from which will spring something.

My trek toward intellectual honesty and my pull toward that of the spirit happily converge in the Genesis account of creation.

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”

“I envy your faith,” Bill said to Jerry and me…and well do I understand his statement. For belief in God ultimately satisfies both the spirit and the intellect.

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My other blog is here.